Eileen Oni, Ph.D., is a Rutgers iJOBS alumnus and currently an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Fellow at the National Science Foundation. Her role as a Fellow is to assist in the decision-making processes for programs that study the science of Broadening Participation in Engineering. She is involved in portfolio analysis, and supports program review panels. During her time at Rutgers, Eileen participated in the iJOBS program, which gave her the skills necessary to make the transition from academia to science policy. iJOBS blogger, Urmimala Basu, spoke with Eileen about how her involvement with the iJOBS program paved the way for her first job. The responses to these questions do notrepresent AAAS or the National Science Foundation. Thoughts represented here are those of Eileen Oni.
- Let’s trace your career trajectory: where did you go to school for your undergraduate studies and what was your field?
For my undergraduate work, I was at Rowan University where I majored in Biological Sciences. Right from freshman year, I pursued laboratory work. I worked in a Field Ecology lab ledby Dr. Patrick Crumrine, and presented some of our work at our local STEM Symposium. I then transitioned to the Lab of Dr. Cristina Iftode working on a virology project, where in addition to our local STEM symposium, we presented at two meetings of the American Society for Virology. I was interested in doing research work and received additional training in the summer between Junior and Senior year at the Rutgers University REU: RISE/IGERT program. Following graduation from Rowan, I began my graduate career at Rutgers University in the lab of Dr. Ronald Hart.
- Please tell us about your graduate career: What did you work on at Rutgers? What was your motivation behind going to graduate school?
During my time at Rutgers, I worked in the lab of Ronald Hart in Nelson labs. My work focused on identifying the role of genetic variants in addiction disorders such as nicotine and alcohol addiction. For this project, we used neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. Overall, my motivation for graduate school was to discover how we function on a fundamental level.
- Please share with us your experiences as a Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy fellow at the National Academy of Sciences.
My time as a Mirzayan was an awesome experience! I was a Fellow in the 2017 cohort. I worked in the Policy and Global Affairs Division in the Committee on Science, Technology, and Law. We focused on projects such as Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) and the Future of Voting. For these projects, I did a lot of editing and background research that went into a recent publication. During this fellowship, I was able to network with many players in the policy space including former Mirzayan fellows. We had weekly meetings and workshops in which we learned about how the National Academies go through their report process and the various divisions within the Academies. I had the opportunity to attend multiple congressional, and even a Supreme Court hearing!
- Please describe your current job as a AAAS Science & Technology Fellow. What are your duties and how do youmanage them? What are some of the major challenges you face?
I am currently a AAAS Fellow at the National Science Foundation working in the Engineering Education and Centers division with Broadening Participation in Engineering. As a Fellow, I work with my program director and division on tasks such as portfolio analysis, various writing tasks and review panels. We are also involved in one of NSF’s big ten ideas: NSF INCLUDES. For these projects, I have been able to travel to site visits and various conferences. Outside of NSF, I am involved with organizations of Fellows with similar interests, which are called Affinity Groups (AGs). I am involved in multiple AGs and am a co-chair of a Mentoring Leadership Affinity group. As Fellows, we have a lot of opportunities for professional development. Many of these events are hosted by AAAS, and are located around the Washington D.C. metro area. We recently had a workshop on Negotiation Skills, in which time management and ability to prioritize tasks was a key take away. Workshops like this have allowed me to build on skills that I developed during graduate school. As far as challenges, for me it wouldbe trying not to do too many activities, but rather prioritizing and finding the right balance.
- Please tell us how you chose your current career path? How did you transition to your current job?
In choosing science policy as a career path, I really had to think about what I was naturally interested in. I had an interest in politics, but more so an interest in figuring out how to alleviate systematic issues within science, whether it’s workforce development of future scientists or addressing polices that allow scientists to be more productive. I happen to view the Federal space as where I can be the most effective. The key factor in transitioning to this current position was networking and asking questions. Chances are you arenot the first person— nor the only person— to pursue a certain path. Seeking those people out and getting their advice can save you a lot of time and gives you a lot to think about.
- Please elaborate on how biomedical scientists can transition into science policy. Why is it important for science policy makers to be scientists themselves?
One thing that’s important in science policy is to be open to the notion that there are many factors that go into the decision-making process for polices that affect science, especially since there is only so much funding (at least Federal) to go around. It’s helpful to remember that you are an expert and bring unique experiences and decision-making skills to the table! Also, be mindful not to approach non- scientists in a condescending way. Everyone has a stake in science policy, and may approach it from a different viewpoint; most importantly, that’s OK! A rising tide lifts all boats. I think what is most important for science policy makers, is having scientific literacy, and using evidence-based decision making.
- What is your parting advice to graduate students interested in science policy? What qualities do you think will make one succeed in a job like yours?
I think immersion is the always the best course. So, any activity or event where you can expose yourself to the inner workings of a legislative office, state or federal is helpful. It gives you a better perspective on how all of the pieces of a policy fit together. It’s also helpful to understand whether you want to work on science for policy (work that is used to inform policy makers) or policy for science (work on polices that affect science).
- What is your view of the iJOBS program at Rutgers?
I think it’s a fantastic program! All of the programming was extremely helpful in getting me to think about the opportunities I could pursue during graduate school in order to prepare myself for the next career steps, whatever they may be. I would not be in the position that I am today without some of the strategies that the iJOBS program offered me. More importantly, they are skills that I continue to use today! This post was edited by Monal Mehta and Paulina Krzyszczyk